"That's the washroom, isn't it? Isn't it there for your convenience when bathing?" Cheng Ying explained to the old woman.

The old woman scoffed. "When we were at home, who bathed every single day in the winter? Didn't we manage just fine? Why are the city folks so particular? It's such a waste, washing every day! It’s just needless fussing, pure suffering."

Cheng Ying felt utterly helpless. She was rejoicing at escaping that environment where daily bathing wasn't possible, yet she hadn't realized the old woman harbored such resentment.

The old woman launched into a lengthy lecture aimed at her granddaughter. However, upon seeing Chi Wu, she only uttered one line: "Only Wu Zi truly cares for his grandma."

Cheng Ying remarked that her grandmother was growing increasingly cunning and sly, now even mastering the art of playing two sides against each other.

Watching his wife head to the washroom, Chi Wu thought about the clothes she'd taken out—his own underpants were among them. Chi Wu blushed deeply. This was the rhythm of a real married couple; his heart fluttered with excitement.

Cheng Ying, however, wasn't as romantic about it as Chi Wu imagined. When it came to scrubbing Chi Wu's clothes, she unceremoniously tossed them straight into the washing machine.

She was, however, meticulous about preparing his bathwater: a large basin of Spatial Water, only slightly tempered with a bit of hot water. She added honeysuckle blossoms and beckoned Chi Wu over to bathe.

Chi Wu complimented his wife on being so virtuous, but this conflicted directly with the doctor's instructions. He dared not harshly refuse his wife's earnest intentions. "Perhaps we shouldn't soak for too long? Didn't the doctor forbid immersing the wound in water?"

Cheng Ying rolled her eyes heavenward. "Did the doctor say you were forbidden to touch water? Is your leg broken? Are you going to listen to the doctor or to me?"

Chi Wu fell silent. Never mind bathwater—if his wife told him to jump into a cauldron of boiling oil, Chi Wu would plunge in and even enjoy the searing heat.

He touched his face. His wife having gently smoothed water over his face felt rather effective. That blotchy, ulcerated look—it was improving, wasn't it?

Cheng Ying watched Chi Wu undress without the slightest hesitation, which touched her heart. She offered an explanation. "Trust me, I found a folk remedy. It can remove scars."

Chi Wu turned back. "Are you really that bothered? We can just arrange for a skin graft later."

Cheng Ying turned away without looking at him. Skin grafts were so painful! Cutting a piece of skin from his backside and grafting it onto his leg—the very thought made her ache. Why should they endure such torment? "No need for such trouble. This folk remedy is very effective. Just soak diligently, and it will work."

Chi Wu had stripped down to just his underpants, blushing as he faced his wife. "I can manage on my own, Yingzi. You go ahead and busy yourself."

Cheng Ying took a good look at Chi Wu’s physique. It was genuinely quite good, though he was awfully shy. She hadn't even blushed, so why was he turning red? Where had his instinct to take advantage of the situation gone? "Alright, soak well. If the water gets cold, just call me, and I'll add more hot water."

Chi Wu thought that while his wife entering while he bathed felt intimate, he was too self-conscious. "I'll listen to you and soak longer. Don't worry; you don't need to come in to fetch more water; I can manage myself."

Cheng Ying finally left after casting a few lingering glances at Chi Wu’s abdominal muscles. This boy wasn't bad; he actually had some abs. Ahem, she was overthinking things.

Chi Wu thought his wife was surprisingly less reserved at this moment.

"How is it? Is Wu Zi satisfied with the renovations?" the old woman asked.

"What could he possibly be dissatisfied with? His own men carried out the work according to his design. I should be the one complaining that I didn't hate it," Cheng Ying replied.

The old woman pointed at her granddaughter, shaking her head. "You foolish girl! I see it clearly now. Wu Zi was planning this as a proper marital home. You, you’re just scatterbrained!"

Cheng Ying’s jaw nearly dropped. Having seen far more luxurious marital homes, she truly hadn't recognized this as a blueprint for a new home. Was her standard too high? "A marital home? You're imagining things."

The old woman shook her head and walked away.

Cheng Ying mused that three people living in six rooms—including Cheng Ming who came over to the middle section, and Rong Sao who stayed at home—meant everyone had more than one room. Aside from being a bit wasteful, she felt nothing special. Compared to the marital home Cheng Ying envisioned, there was still a significant gap.

Three days before Chi Wu was due to leave for school, Cheng Ying kept him confined to a room. Outsiders might think Cheng Ying couldn't bear to be separated from Chi Wu and wouldn't let him leave, keeping him solely for her company. Those in the know—like the old woman, Cheng Ming, and Rong Sao—understood: Cheng Ying was raising Chi Wu like a fish, keeping him submerged in water all day long, not allowing him to surface.

No one had ever seen such domineering behavior. Using her own husband as a medicinal poultice!

Sometimes the old woman felt like hitting someone. A burn wound—the thing it feared most was contact with water. Wasn't this child deliberately tormenting him? A troublesome child! And Wu Zi indulged her in everything.

When the old woman’s patience finally wore thin, Cheng Ying would lift Chi Wu's leg out to cool it down. "Do you see any sign of infection? Don't worry; this is the folk remedy I managed to find. It’s for scars. The effect will show in a few days."

Seeing no infection, the old woman stopped nagging. But none of them—including Chi Wu—believed it could actually remove the scars. They merely remained silent because they saw how much Cheng Ying cared.

In any case, it was just soaking in water, and Chi Wu felt it was acceptable; he could treat it as humoring his wife. If the scars really remained an eyesore, he decided he would secretly get a skin graft behind his wife's back.

When Chi Wu finally left for school, whether it was psychological or not, he felt that not only had his scars faded, but his entire skin surface felt smooth and firm—the tactile sensation was superb.

He was too embarrassed to mention it to Cheng Ying, but she immediately touched him several times. "See? I told you it was useful!"

Chi Wu touched the scars on his leg; they were definitely much better than when they had just healed, feeling far less uneven.

Cheng Ying produced several bottles, an assortment of high-quality vials and jars she had sourced from others. "Take these. You must apply this to your leg every morning and evening. Remember that. If you run out, I’ll send more. This is a hard-won folk remedy I acquired; the medicinal ingredients inside are very valuable."

Cheng Ying stressed this point three times. Chi Wu assured her that he would treasure and carefully store everything his wife gave him.

Only then did Cheng Ying relax. If it hadn't been for Chi Wu, Cheng Ying would never have dared risk taking out that pure Spatial Water. The risk was too great. But this man was Chi Wu, the one who entered the fire for her sake. Even a scar the size of a fingernail, Cheng Ying found it heartbreaking to look at. It had to be fixed. It was upsetting to see.

Furthermore, Cheng Ying had called in a favor from her sworn uncle to procure a new vehicle for Chi Wu—a rugged off-roader that looked imposing. This made her sworn uncle extremely envious. Cheng Ying insisted, "We're driving our own car; fuel consumption doesn't matter. Safety and comfort are the most important things."

Chi Wu was delighted by such a grand gift from his wife, grinning so wide his teeth showed.

The items Chi Wu took with him were mostly bottles and jars. Waving goodbye to his wife, he called out, "Don't worry, I will definitely use the medicine diligently," before driving off in the new car his wife had bought.

The old woman wailed, "Oh, what a money burner!" She then spat three times toward the sky, "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey."

Cheng Ying felt completely bewildered. Who had made the old woman so superstitious about that word?

Rong Sao approached. "Old Madam is currently repulsed by the word 'burn.' She doesn't even want to hear it mentioned."

Cheng Ying understood; they had just experienced a fire. But when neighborhood onlookers saw the Cheng family's demeanor, they all had the same thought: The Chengs were extraordinary. Look at them! They only had one factory burn down, and it hadn't affected them at all. They were compensating for losses, rebuilding the factory, buying a new car, and renovating the house. For any other family, a fire like that would have spelled ruin, yet the Cheng family hadn't suffered a blow to their core strength. The Cheng family ran deep. Rumors were already spreading that the Chengs were the wealthiest family in the provincial capital.

Cheng Ying heard this from her own grandmother. At the time, the old woman had confided, "Wealthiest family? I'm just puffing out my cheeks, pretending to be richer than we are to chat with them. What family can withstand such massive losses? I just didn't want my face to look haggard and let people take advantage of us by pretending we were struggling."

"Grandma, don't worry about what you want to do; we aren't afraid of anything," Cheng Ying reassured her.

The old woman was more sensitive than Cheng Ying realized. "Yingzi, you don't understand. Look at this street. Our factory burned down, and just a few days later, how many new furniture shops have sprung up?"

Cheng Ying acknowledged that people were perceptive, whether one liked it or not—look how quickly others seized opportunity. "Don't worry. Our factory will be back up soon. Besides, we are in the wholesale business; we aren't competing on the same track as them."

Seeing the old woman’s furrowed brow, Cheng Ying didn't know how to comfort her better. If she talked on the phone for too long, the old woman would start worrying about the cost again. It was true: not only the large factory, but the finished goods, semi-finished products, and raw timber inside—the losses were substantial. Even Cheng Ying felt the sting herself. To say they were crippled financially was an exaggeration; it was at worst starting over. She wasn't without capital. It was truly just a pang of loss.

When Chi Wu left, he gave his bank book to Cheng Ying. Cheng Ying told him they wouldn't need it; the funds they had access to externally were enough to rebuild the factory from scratch. Moreover, Cheng Ying had built the employee dormitory this time. Since the old one had burned down anyway, they might as well upgrade.

That evening, Cheng Ying retrieved several gold bars from the pool within her space. That Spatial Water was remarkable; anything placed in it would have its quality elevated by several grades. Carrying the glittering bars, she went to present them to the old woman. Cheng Ying’s message was simple: their family’s wealth was vast; this loss was manageable. She realized she had been so focused on worrying about Chi Wu’s injury that she had neglected the old woman’s distress.

The old woman’s first action upon seeing what her granddaughter brought was to draw the curtains, fearing thieves. Her second action was to pick one up and bite it. Frankly, everyone said gold was soft, but it wasn't something teeth could easily bite through. Cheng Ying worried for the old woman’s precious remaining teeth. "You don't have many teeth left. Can we try to conserve them?"

Facing her granddaughter, the old woman didn't feel embarrassed. "Where did this come from? Why so much? It’s blinding just looking at it."

Cheng Ying laughed. "It certainly wasn't stolen. You should keep it safe. Our family isn't short of money. If we burned down two more factories, your granddaughter could still handle it."

This time, the old woman genuinely picked up her feather duster. "Can you just shut up? You are our ancestor! What else do you plan to do?"

Cheng Ying slapped her own mouth. "It’s nothing, nothing! It’s all my fault. Don't get upset. I won't say things like that again. Don't worry; the new factory we’re building will be absolutely solid—fireproof, waterproof, and theft-proof, everything will be up to standard."